Dan Lavey, the Portland political consultant who is close Sen. Gordon Smith, is understandable saddened by the defeat of the Oregon Republican. So I suppose it might have colored his remarks to the City Club of Portland Friday.

"I think," he declared, "the Republican Party in Oregon is dead."

The move of the national Republican party to cultural conservatism has hurt Republicans in Oregon for several years, he noted. And when a Democratic wave comes along like the one that hit Tuesday, Oregon Republicans just don't have any defenses.

Lavey was speaking at a forum on the election that was moderated by yours truly and that also included pollster Tim Hibbitts and Democratic consultant Mark Wiener.

Afterwards, Lavey told me that Republicans won't get out of this mess anytime soon. His advice?

"Start small," he said. "Rebuilding starts one brick at a time."

Focus on winning back some legislative seats. Start doing what the Democrats do, he said, and recruit candidates who seem best suited to winning in the fall, not just winning in primaries.